May Community Events Calendar

THRU SUN MAY 14
7:30PM • $35–$59
THEATER: UNFRAMED: AN IMMIGRANT IN PROGRESS
From his idyllic early life in Antigua to his arrival in America at age 11, his struggles with racism and finding his voice for change, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo paints a striking and meaningful portrait of his search for self in this tour-de-force solo show.
Elektra Theatre
300 W 43rd St

FRI MAY 5
8PM • $50–$75
PERFORMANCE: THE KENTUCKY DERBY IS DECADENT AND DEPRAVEDDirector Chloe Webb and the legendary artist Ralph Steadman bring Hunter S. Thompson’s first gonzo journalism piece (and Steadman’s sketches) to hallucinatory life. The Kentucky Derby marked the beginning of Thompson and Steadman’s epic partnership, realized in this stage adaptation with an all-star cast and a band performing guitar great Bill Frisell’s original score. This raucous performance makes its New York City debut on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Actor Tim Robbins stars. For tickets visit ticketmaster.com or call 800-982-2787.
The Town Hall
123 W 43rd St

SAT MAY 6
12PM–6PM • $15 in advance, $20 day of
FOOD: TASTE OF ROCKAWAY BEACH
Tastings from 31 Rockaway beach locations will be on offer, all within walking distance of each other. To purchase tickets online and for more information visit fareharbor.com. This might be a prime time to give the new Rockaway ferry a test ride. It departs from Wall Street multiple times a day starting May 1.
Rockaway Beach

SUN MAY 7
6:30AM • $100
RIDE: FIVE BORO BIKE TOUR
For one day, the roads are yours, the bridges are yours, the city is yours. The Five Boro Bike Tour is the largest charitable bike ride in the United States with proceeds funding free bike-education programs. For details and registration visit bike.nyc/events. The ride starts at intersection of Franklin St & Church St

TUE MAY 9
7:30PM • FREE
BOOK TALK: LISA KO, AUTHOR OF THE LEAVERS
Inspired by real-life stories of undocumented women whose U.S.-born children were taken from them and adopted by American families, while the women themselves were jailed or deported, The Leavers is Lisa Ko’s penetrating debut novel and the winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction. Ko will be joined in conversation by Hillary Jordan, author of the novels Mudbound and When She Woke.
Greenlight Bookstore | Prospect Lefferts Gardens
632 Flatbush Ave

WED MAY 10
7PM–9PM • $10 suggested donation
BOOK TALK: A LESBIAN FBI INFORMANT IN THE RED SCARE
Lisa E. Davis discusses her new book, Undercover Girl: The Lesbian Informant Who Helped the FBI Bring Down the Communist Party. Angela Calomiris (1916-95), a Village-based photographer was an FBI informant who became a Red Scare celebrity in 1949 when she testified in a conspiracy trial against the leadership of the Communist Party. A selection of vintage photos accompanies this presentation.
LGBT Center
208 W 13th St Rm 210

FRI MAY 12 TO SAT MAY 13
FREE
DAY SCHOOL: SOCIALISM THEN AND NOW
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) will host a socialist day school that will investigate the influence historical movements have had on our current political moment and the lessons they have to offer people working for social change today. Speakers include Frances Fox Piven, Maurice Isserman, Dan La Botz and Gay Semel. For further details and tickets visit FB.com/nycdsa.
St. Francis De Sales School for the Deaf
260 Eastern Pkwy

SUN MAY 14
2PM • $15
PERFORMANCE: THE ORIGINAL BADASS MOTHER’S DAY SHOW
Reverend Billy and the Mothers of the Stop Shopping Choir pay tribute to the mothers of world, drawing inspiration from Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation: “From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, ‘Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.’”
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater
425 Lafayette St

THU MAY 18
6PM • FREE
DRINKS: ACTIVISTA HAPPY HOUR
A popular monthly meetup where political activists and organizers get to know each other over drinks.
Cherry Tree Bar
65 4th Ave

TUE MAY 23 THRU SUN JUNE 18
8PM • FREE
PERFORMANCE: SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: JULIUS CAESAR
The Public Theater’s Artistic Director Oskar Eustis directs Shakespeare’s play of politics and power. Rome’s leader, Julius Caesar, is a force unlike any the city has seen. Magnetic, populist, irreverent, he seems bent on absolute power. A small band of patriots, devoted to the country’s democratic traditions, must decide how to oppose him. Shakespeare’s political masterpiece has never felt more contemporary. Visit publictheater.org for ticketing information.
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park

SUN MAY 28
12PM–5PM • FREE
CULTURE: LOISAIDA FESTIVAL
Since 1987 the Loisaida Festival has celebrated Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood. It features diverse manifestations of the neighborhood’s Puerto Rican and Latino cultures expressed through music, cuisine and arts. This year’s theme is immigration.
Avenue C on the Lower East Side

FRI JUNE 2 thru SUN JUNE 4
$30–$100
SYMPOSIUM: LEFT FORUM
Panels, workshops, film screenings — Left Forum is the largest annual gathering of left-wing troublemakers, thinkers, artists, journalists, writers and publishers in North America. Tickets and further details at leftforum.org.
John Jay College
524 W 59th St

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Image: One of Ralph Steadman’s iconic illustrations from outlaw journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s The Kentucky Derby is Decedent and Depraved. The legendary artist brings Thompson’s original gonzo masterpiece from the 1970 Kentucky Derby to life in the New York premiere of this staged production at Town Hall on May 5. Credit: Ralph Steadman.